A Christmas Miracle
by R - Equine Writer
Summary: It's Christmastime on the Ponderosa, but everything is far from peaceful. When Louise accepts the school bully's dare, everything goes wrong. It's a nightmare incident involving guns and rattlesnakes - but will the Christmas season save the day! Just a short story - but hopefully a longer Louise Cartwright story to follow soon. This story is for Islaboe! 4th in the series


Well it's been a long time - and had it not been for Islaboe, I probably wouldn't have written another Louise C story. Thanks for encouraging me :)

It's just a short story to get me back into writing FF, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Hopefully a much longer Adam and Louise story to follow soon. I know Christmas is over for us, but I wrote this one just before Christmas. I wasn't sure if it was good enough to upload, but finally decided to go for it. Hope you all enjoy!

 **A Christmas Miracle**

Louise Cartwright screamed! A hot pain seared through her leg and she tumbled to the floor.

"Jason! You've killed her!" she heard a voice shout. Everything blurred into one and she wasn't sure who was talking.

"Someone go and get Mr. Cartwright!"

"Mr. Cartwright's away!"

"Then get one of her brothers! And the doctor! Hurry!"

The pain intensified, and before she knew it – everything went black.

* * *

When Louise opened her eyes she found herself looking into the worried face of her eldest brother, Adam. Hoss and Joe were at her side too.

Relief swept over Adam's face. "You're awake – thank God!"

"What happened?" Louise asked slowly, trying hard to remember.

"You got shot – you hair-brained idiot!" 15 year old Joe said angrily. "You snuck off after school to show off to Jason that you could shoot a gun! You're not even allowed near the gun cabinet!"

"What were you thinking, Little Lou?" Hoss asked.

Louise bit her lip. "I'm sorry. She tried to force herself to sit up. She was on the sofa in front of the fireplace. A blanket was covering her lap – and her leg hurt a lot. A Christmas tree stood in the corner of the room.

"Are you mad at me, Adam?" she finally asked, worried that her eldest brother hadn't scolded her yet. That wasn't like him. She guessed that he was too mad to even talk to her.

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mad? I think that's an understatement!"

"I thought you didn't like guns!" Joe interrupted. "What's Pa gonna say?!"

"Please don't tell him! Adam, can't you just deal with me and not tell Pa? Please?"

"Louise – I know Pa's got delayed on his business meeting. But he's still going to get home before your leg heals," Adam said.

"Pa's going to be awful mad, Lou!" Joe said.

Adam turned on his little brother, this time sticking up for their sister. "Now wait a minute! She's been stupid – yes. But there's no need for you to keep going on at her. If I remember rightly, you did something similar when you were eleven. Just a year older than she is now!"

Joe blushed. "Aw, Adam. I forgot about that."

Louise frowned. "I don't remember! Adam – tell me!"

Joe shook his head for Adam to stop, but Adam grinned and began.

"Well, let me see. It all started when Joe asked for a gun for his eleventh birthday…"

 _FLASHBACK_

The Cartwright temper had not been displayed for some time on the Ponderosa as well it was right now. Little Joe threw down his napkin, stood up from the table and stomped towards the stairs.

"Joseph Francis Cartwright!" Ben bellowed. "If you know what's good for you, you will return to the table this minute and apologise!"

Somewhere, beyond the fly-off-the-handle temper, there was a little bit of common sense in Joe's brain. He quickly recovered himself and shuffled back to the table, eye's glued to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Pa," he murmured.

"You have just confirmed what I had previously said, Joseph," Ben said firmly. "If you can still have temper tantrums like a toddler, then you are definitely not old enough to handle a gun!"

 _FLASHBACK ENDS_

Louise giggled. "You know, I think I remember that. I remember being pleased that Pa was cross with someone other than me!"

"Shh and listen, if you want to hear the end!" Adam scolded, and then continued.

 _FLASHBACK_

Joe's birthday came and went, and as the days that followed his birthday increased, he felt more and more like a man. One of his friends from school who had a birthday around the same time as him received a gun – and he asked Joe whether he had got anything like that for his birthday. Joe couldn't be outdone by his friend – so he described a beautiful rifle. It was none other than the one that Ben had given Adam on his return from college.

"Bring it to school tomorrow, and we'll try them out during recess!" Tommy challenged.

"Alright," Joe agreed and the two boys rode off for home.

That evening, Joe crept down the stairs and helped himself to the beautiful, almost-new rifle. It was a stunning piece of craftsmanship. Then he ran outside and hid it by the Ponderosa Pine which marked the end of galloping before entering the yard. With it hidden there he could easily retrieve it on the way to school, and no one would see him. Except for Louise – and she wouldn't say anything if he made her promise!

The one thing Joe hadn't counted on as he headed for school the next day was for Adam to ride into town. Louise had forgotten her lunch pail, and at recess Adam headed over to the school just in time to see two little boys running off together. One of those boys looked unmistakably like Joe!

"Wow, Joe! That's a nice gun!" Tommy said in awe as Joe started loading the rifle.

"Just watch me shoot it," Joe said with pride as he levelled it up and tried to feel the balance of it.

"What you aiming for?" Tommy asked.

Joe considered for a moment, and then he spotted a large knot in a tree. "I'll aim for that!" he said.

Cocking the hammer, he quickly pulled the trigger. The bullet speared the bark, but was at least a foot away from the knot.

"The sun was in my eyes," he lied. "I'll try again."

"Joseph!"

Joe froze at the sound of his name. He knew that voice anywhere. Slowly turning around he found himself looking straight into the furious face of his brother Adam.

"Adam!" he gulped. "What are you doing here?"

"Tommy, class will be starting any minute – go back to school," Adam commanded. The young boy went running, leaving Joe alone with a very irate older brother.

"Just what do you think you're doing? What did Pa say about you using a gun?"

"He said I couldn't have one for my birthday – but I'm just borrowing this one!" Joe said with a sheepish grin.

That answer was a mistake. Adam's face grew even angrier – if possible – and he grabbed Little Joe's arm to keep him from running off and started swatting his backside. Joe did everything he could to dance out of the way of those swats – but it was no good. Before he knew it, Adam had peppered his whole backside and it was stinging like a nest of bees.

 _FLASHBACK ENDS_

By the time Adam had finished describing Joe's comeuppance, everyone was laughing – except Joe.

"And when Pa found out, he made sure Joe couldn't sit for a week!" Adam added.

Joe went red. "Well – maybe I shouldn't have been so mad at you Lou. I guess I did make the same mistake," he said. "But what were you doing anyway?"

Louise flushed. "Well, it all started yesterday when Jason dared me …"

 _FLASHBACK_

"We're gonna have a shooting practice after school. You game, Cartwright? Or are you chicken?"

Louise had been afraid of guns since Russ had threatened her when she was little. But recently all that the kids at school talked about was guns – and her curiosity had been aroused. Not about to be called chicken she stuck her head high and said: "Of course I'm game! I can shoot better than most of you. I bet I can even outshoot you, Jason!"

Then she marched off to find Salt, her pony, and rode home.

The next day, after school, Louise prepared the borrowed rifle and took aim.

She surprised herself at her shot. Jason had lined up a load of tin cans on a fence post and she hit her first one.

"Beginner's luck!" Jason snarled. "My turn!"

He raised his rifle to shoot when out of the corner of her eye, Louise saw Salt rearing. Looking closer, she saw a rattlesnake at his feet. Not thinking, she darted forwards, just as Jason's shot rang out.

 _FLASHBACK ENDS_

"And that's all I remember," Louise said. "I'm really sorry. I was so stupid – I don't know why I ran in front of him."

"That's not the only stupid thing you did!" Adam said firmly.

The clock on the mantelpiece chimed eleven.

"It's really late," Adam said. "Joe – I think you should go to bed. Louise, I'll carry you up."

"Are you going to … to punish me, Adam?" Louise asked, putting her arms around his neck as he lifted her.

"What do you think?" Adam asked.

Louise sighed as Adam carried her upstairs and laid her on her bed.

"Now how's that leg feeling?" he asked.

"Sore," she admitted.

"You're lucky the bullet went right through – and missed the bone!" he told her. "Now I've been thinking about what you said – and you're in luck Louise!"

She looked at him quizzically. "I am?"

He nodded his head. "As this is the Christmas season, I'm going to grant you your wish. I'm going to deal with you – then I will tell Pa – but I'll ask him to leave it at that. Understood?"

Louise nodded her head. Adam spanked as hard as Ben – in fact, sometimes harder. But she wanted to get it over with.

Adam helped Louise across his knees, being careful not to hurt her injured leg – and then he lifted her skirt and petticoats and gave her a full dose. He certainly didn't hold back as he thought of what might have happened had the gun been aimed higher! When he finished he lifted her back onto his knee in a sitting position and held her close.

"You really worried me, Louise!" he said.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed into his shoulder.

"When Davy rode into the yard shouting that there'd been an accident – my heart stopped. It didn't feel like it started again until you woke up."

"I'm so sorry I worried you, Adam. I'm never touching a gun again!"

"I forgive you," Adam said. "You're lucky you weren't hurt more. I guess it was a miracle – a Christmas miracle."

Louise smiled as she snuggled against her older brother.

And she kept her promise about leaving guns alone … that was, until the New Year …

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed :)


End file.
